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Drive Electric Florida unites industry, government, and communities to accelerate electric vehicle adoption and expand clean transportation across Florida.

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driveelectricflorida.org

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Chris Castro

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Chris is an experienced climate and clean energy finance executive, sustainability pro, and eco-entrepreneur with a unique expertise in the policy, planning, and financing of decarbonization solutions for the power, buildings, and transportation sectors. From 2022-2025, Chris joined the Biden-Harris administration as a presidential appointee to serve as the inaugural Chief of Staff for a newly formed Office at the U.S. Department of Energy serving State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP). In September 2024, Chris was promoted as the Senior Advisor in the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE). In both roles, Chris worked to advance President Biden’s ambitious climate and clean energy goals and transition to a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. For 8+ years prior, Chris became a renowned public official in his role as the Senior Advisor to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Director of Sustainability & Resilience at the City of Orlando, Florida. #GreenWorksOrlando In addition, Chris is known for his eco -entrepreneurial efforts over the last 17+ years, including co-founder and President of IDEAS For Us, a global UN-accredited 501c3 nonprofit working to incubate and fund innovative projects that advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2012, Chris also started a clean-energy firm called Citizen Energy, in 2013 co-created Fleet Farming, the renowned urban farming social enterprise program, and in 2020, Chris joined partners to launch Climate First Bank, the first B-Corp community climate bank in Florida. Chris has served on over a dozen nonprofit and academic boards, including the Florida Solar Energy Center, US Green Building Council of FL, Project Greenschools, FL SUN, and Goodwill Industries of Central Florida. Over the years, Chris has become nationally recognized for his efforts; including being named the 2018 Public Official of the Year by Governing, a ‘Champions of Change' by President Barack Obama, the 'Guru of Green' by the Orlando Business Journal, the Grist 50 Fixer, and formal recognition from President Bill Clinton, President Jimmy Carter, and VP Al Gore. In December 2018, Chris starred in the National Geographic documentary on climate change called "Paris to Pittsburgh" to share the Orlando journey on climate action to millions of people around the World. As a thought leader, Chris has been a Brookings Institute fellow and spoken at more than 200+ conferences and events, including the United Nations summits, Vatican Youth Symposium, NASA Innovation Expo, TEDx Orlando, and more.